University of Minnesota Athletics
Banham Excited for Sunday's Ceremony
12/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Gopher women's basketball will ring in the New Year with a jersey retirement ceremony for one of its all-time greats, Rachel Banham. A banner for No. 1 will be unveiled prior to Minnesota's Jan. 1, 5 p.m. game against No. 4 Maryland.
Banham, who concluded her Gophers career this past March, is the Big Ten's all-time leading scorer with 3,093 points. She tied the NCAA record with 60 points in a game at Northwestern. Banham's numerous other Minnesota records include her 354 career 3-pointers, and her 119 triples and 28.6 points per game over the course of the 2015-16 season.
Banham's historic senior season captured the attention of the nation, including her favorite player, Kobe Bryant. She was drafted fourth overall by the WNBA's Connecticut Sun and got off to a hot start before a knee injury slowed and shortened her rookie season. Banham, a native of Lakeville, Minn., will be back in the spotlight on Sunday as she is honored at Williams Arena.
GopherSports: What was the feeling when you found out your jersey would be retired so soon after you were done playing at the U of M?
Rachel Banham: It was a great feeling. It was kind of a shocker. (Director of operations Tiffanie Couts) called me and handed the phone to Coach (Marlene Stollings), and I was like, "What's going on?" I didn't know what they would want to talk to me about. It came out of nowhere. So it was kind of cool to be surprised like that. I was so excited and I couldn't stop smiling. I told people about it right away because I was so excited.
GS: What do you hope people think about when they see your banner hanging in the rafters?
RB: That I love the program, I love the university and I gave everything I could to it. That I had fun doing it and played hard and was a good teammate.
GS: It has to be cool to be up there with someone you grew up watching, Lindsay Whalen.
RB: It's so cool. I love Lindsay and we have a relationship, so I'm able to talk to her and she's been super supportive. I've obviously been supportive of her career as well, and it's cool that we're both going to be hanging up there together. I never thought that would actually be a thing coming into college. I was like, "I hope I play." Now it's such a difference from what I thought freshman year. Being up there with all the other ones, Linda Roberts and Carol Ann Shudlick and all them is really cool, too.
GS: Now that you're several months removed from college basketball, what do you miss the most about it?
RB: I miss everything. In your first year removed, you're going to miss a lot of things. I miss the girls. It's like a family. You're always with each other. You're sisters. I miss being with them and just hanging out at the apartment and at the gym. Weirdly, I kind of miss a long season. The WNBA can be that long, but mine was cut short so this next season will be fun. But I kind of miss playing over the whole course of the year. It's just fun playing with each other and playing a lot of competitive games.
GS: What did you learn during your WNBA rookie season?
RB: It's a lot different than college. Everything is a learning process on and off the court. The game is different than in college. It's faster and more physical, but besides that the IQ of the game is a lot different, too. It's a higher level. I actually really enjoy studying the game like that. Even when I was sitting out, it was fun to see different schemes that our coach was doing and other coaches were playing. There's a lot of different strategy that I didn't even realize, especially on the defensive end. I learned a lot about that. With Coach Marlene we mainly played a zone, so I learned more man-to-man strategies that I hadn't done in a while.
GS: What were some of the most fun moments?
RB: The first game was really fun. When we played the Lynx at Mohegan Sun and we beat them--we beat them twice--both those games were really fun and exciting. Not just because they're my hometown team, but it's fun when you get to see a bunch of familiar faces and compete against them and come out with the win. The Lynx are an incredible team. That was one of the coolest things: being on the floor against Lindsay Whalen, Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus. Every team we play has people like that, but those people I'm more familiar with being from Minnesota, so that was fun.
GS: What has the recovery process been like as you work your way back to getting on the court?
RB: It's always long. It's really about being patient for me at this point, which is one of the hardest things for me to ever do. It's been good being able to use all my different resources. I've gone and seen Coach Ralph (Petrella). I go into Mayo Clinic downtown. I know a few people in the Cities. So I've been able to utilize that. I've had to be patient, but I'm excited for after the New Year when I can start going into practice. That's going to be huge for me, just getting back into that game shape and getting comfortable on the court again.
GS: Are you still hoping to make it overseas for part of that season?
RB: I was thinking about it before, but I'm kind of at that point where I probably won't. It's not that I don't want to, but it's the smartest decision for me. My knee feels good. I'm around 80 or almost 90 percent, but I don't want to force it. I want to go into training camp 110 percent, feeling great. There's no point in me rushing over there and coming back to the U.S. and having more issues. I'm going to continue to rehab, get really strong and get in great shape so that I'm ready for training camp. Next winter I plan to go back overseas.
GS: Last but not least, how is your dog, Kobe?
RB: He's great. He's massive. He's 7 months old now and he is 75 pounds. He is a big boy, and he's going to keep growing. The vet said I probably shouldn't feed him as much. He's a sweetheart and I'm obsessed with him. He's doing great.
